In the 1830s, when the first schools for children who are blind officially opened in the United States, accessible educational materials were extremely rare. Teachers had to build their own tactile teaching aids to be able to provide accessible education to their students, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough. Many students still didn’t have access to accessible materials and many of them did not receive the same quality of education as sighted students.

In response to the growing need of accessible educational materials, Dempsey Sherrod, a man from Mississippi, started promoting the idea of a printing house that would focus on books especially made for blind and low vision students. In 1858, The American Printing House for the Blind was officially established!

For over 165 years, APH has created unique products and services to support blind and low vision individuals from all over the US. Today, APH ConnectCenter, takes another step in this direction by joining Specialized Help on the Be My Eyes app!

Blind and low vision Be My Eyes members living in the US can call an APH ConnectCenter representative and get connected through the Be My Eyes app in a matter of seconds. APH ConnectCenter offers a wide range of services and resources:

• Parents and professionals can get support and advice on raising or teaching a child with a visual impairment.
• Blind and low vision individuals can get access to curated information on assistive technology and adjust to life with vision loss.
• Job seekers who are blind or low vision can get career guidance and get access to all necessary employment resources.

Reaching out to an APH ConnectCenter representative is easy: open the Be My Eyes app, click on Specialized Help and select “Blindness Organizations”. Here, tap on APH ConnectCenter and you will be connected in a matter of seconds! You can also visit their profile by clicking on this link: https://profiles.bemyeyes.com/catalog/aph-connectcenter

APH ConnectCenter is available Monday to Friday from 8am to to 8pm ET for all Be My Eyes members living in the United States. To check what companies and organizations are available in your region, please access the Specialized Help menu through the Be My Eyes app (Specialized Help is the second button on the blind user’s home screen).

APH ConnectCenter joins a large family of organizations for the blind that are already available on Be My Eyes Specialized Help, like the American Council Of The Blind, the Cincinnati Association For The Blind & Visually Impaired, Guide Dogs For The Blind and many more! Every new organization joining forces with Be My Eyes is another step closer to our goal of creating a more accessible and inclusive world for thousands of blind and low vision individuals from all over the world. If you are interested in joining our platform as well, don’t hesitate to reach out for more information!